


Bolts and Needles

by gluestick



Category: Hunter X Hunter
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Magic, Canon-Typical Violence, Friendship, Gen, Halloween, Spirits, Spooky, Undead, Witches
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-05
Updated: 2021-01-04
Packaged: 2021-03-07 19:00:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,017
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26832580
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gluestick/pseuds/gluestick
Summary: The Zoldyck family is a coven famous for their skills in assassination. Killua, their heir would really like to escape the coven and his brother before his fifteenth birthday, but it'll be hard, and he'll need help from his friends. Killua can't control his magic, and that complicates his life a lot. Especially when he meets a mysterious, spikey-haired dead boy in his basement. Sneaking one person out of the estate is hard enough, two will be even harder, luckily Leorio, Canary and Alluka are there to help.tl;dr Killua and Gon try to escape the Zoldyck estate, but Killua can't stop worrying for five seconds.
Relationships: Gon Freecs & Killua Zoldyck, Gon Freecs/Killua Zoldyck, Kurapika & Leorio Paladiknight, Kurapika/Leorio Paladiknight, could be read as platonic or not - Relationship
Comments: 6
Kudos: 12





	1. The x basement’s x New x friend

**Author's Note:**

> This was inspired by this AMAZING piece of art and backstory by @stuffbytaylor on Tik Tok and instagram https://www.tiktok.com/@stuffbytaylor?source=h5_m https://www.instagram.com/stuffbytaylor/?hl=en Please go check them out! 
> 
> Here's the art➟ https://twitter.com/stuffbytaylor/status/1310994671246749700 
> 
> I don't know how many chapters I'm gonna write yet, but you can expect at least five (I wanna do more than that tho). This also has some mentions of emotional/physical abuse, death, and needles. All of it is about canon level though. There's probably a lot of errors in this too, sorry. Criticism and suggestions are SUPER appreciated.

Killua’s room was on the third floor of the the Zoldyck mansion, in the left wing. Below it, was a hallway that led to the residence of of his brother. Other than these two, the left wing of the estate was only rooms and rooms of industrial metal walls filled with various devices all with the same purpose. The Zoldyck coven was famous for a few reasons, but if there was one defining thing they did, it was murder. Magic was a common gift, but really it was the meticulous training every Zoldyck had to endure that gave their work such acclaim. 

The house was special too, Its grounds were talked about by children all over the surrounding region. Whispers spread of haunting ghostly figures in royal shades of purple and a three headed hound of hell that protected the estate. Parents held their children closer when passing the steep walls of Kukaroo mountain, afraid of the sent of death that clung to the mist surrounding. Dares formed between children too naive to feel the weight of the air to run through the fog ridden moors and touch the walls. 

Killua didn’t remember most of his childhood, but it wasn’t the worst of the Zoldyck children. Alluka’s was spent in isolation, and Illumi’s too. Nobody outside the coven knew of the differentiations between the siblings, but in truth the difference was too wide for any connection between them. 

━━━━━━ ✩̣̣̣̣̣ͯ┄•͙✧⃝•͙┄✩ͯ•͙͙✧⃝•͙͙✩ͯ┄•͙✧⃝•͙┄✩̣̣̣̣̣ͯ ━━━━━━ 

The morning wasn’t too cold, and it hadn’t snow since January, so when Killua woke awoke to an icy breeze trailing through his room he was truly confused. For a second he thought maybe Illumi had moved him outside in his sleep for some sort of screwed up training. It seemed like something he would do. No, it wasn’t that. Illumi was with his father today, and they were supposed to be talking to some weird scientist. Yeah, he had the house all to himself today. No gloves. No Illumi. Now that he thought about it, why did they need to consult a scientist? Usually they avoided scientists. Grandpa always said scientists were just, “Idiots who would do anything to practice real magic”. Why was his room so cold? Too much thinking far too early in the morning. He pushed the questions out of his mind for now, and sat up. 

Aside from the red orange bricks that his walls consisted of, his room was only varying shades of black and blue. The bricks were bright, but in a bad way, they made the rest of his room feel empty. He walked over to the door on the right of his bed and twisted its weight open. He was glad everything in the house was metal. Yeah it was exhausting to have to push every door open with all the strength he had, but he was used to it. Not just used to it, good at it, he was better at it than anyone his age ever would be. Not to mention metal could conduct electricity. This worked out perfect for Killua, ever since he discovered his talent of manipulating electricity, apparently a form of aeromancy (weather divination), he had been able to send shocks throughout the entire house. This came with a downside however, mandatory rubber gloves. 

As he walked down the spiraling staircase that separated his home from his house, he heard something from below him. It was muffled and clearly said in a whisper, two voices came from the hallway directly under his room. He couldn't make any sense of it. Wasn’t he alone today? Another day for Illumi and father to ruin. He should head back up and get his gloves, or he could just avoid touching anything. He hated those stupid gloves. They were way too big, and their thick rubber wasn’t practical. If he forgot to keep his hands away from the metal walls, and Illumi and father ended up shocked they would probably be fine. On the other hand, They would never give him a chance to take the stupid things off again. A risk he was willing to take. After stepping out, he glanced through the open door of his room, to the white, clown like gloves that rested on his bedside once more, he sighed just quiet enough as to not be heard from the hallway. He descended down the narrow steps with stealth and ease. What else was his training useful for, if not to help him avoid unwanted attention from his nuisance of a family?

It was stranger than normal, whatever normal he was used to at least. The light was the same yellow citrine combination that made him feel like he was in some old detective movie, and the turn of the staircase was just as sickening as it was every morning. But there was something undeniably different. Right, the breeze he felt earlier. The estate was always cold, so cold in fact the grey fog surrounding the house made the windows useless. But this was colder, a chill draft in the house, was this his promised “gift of aeromancy”? No, that was a load of crap, he barely had control over electricity, let alone weather. Mother and father just needed a fancy word for frying anything to a crisp with only one accidental touch. It was unfair just how perfect his magic was for the coven’s plans for him. Of course he out of all the Zoldyck children was the heir. It didn’t matter, there wasn’t anything else for him to do outside the family's coven, he would live his whole life under his fathers bitten thumb. Only one more week anyways. Until his future would truly start.

When he reached the carpeted bottom of the stairs he quickly switched into a state of zestsu. He would rather not meet face to face with the voices he heard minutes ago, now nowhere to be seen. He hoped it would stay this way. The ceilings in here were too low, especially for how big the house was, and the carpet was just as annoying as the lamps that lit the hall. Yellow lights with a purple carpet? They installed that carpet just for him. Although it was more of an insult, they didn’t trust him enough to wear shoes outside of his room at all times. What was he, five? So, they installed an ugly, purple, rubber carpet. God, he hated this place. He didn’t hate purple or anything, hell his shirt was purple, but he knew to wear white pants and shoes with it not yellow. If he didn’t have to wear his gloves 24/7 around any living, breathing being, he would light this house up himself.

He pivoted on the corner of the hallway into the next, still deep in zestsu. As soon as he did he saw the fuzzy figure of a girl around his age standing at the far end of the corridor. She wore a purple suit the same shade as the carpet and carried a staff with a blue orb attached to the end.

“Canary!” Apparently she hadn't noticed him, what could he say, his Zetsu was perfect. “ What are you doing in the left wing?” 

“Oh, Killua, I didn’t know you were home, I assumed you went along with your father and Illumi to see dr. Freecss today. To be honest, I was waiting until you were back to hear how everything went, that doctor is…strange.” 

Her expression changed from surprise to a look of concern.

“No they told me I had to stay home, not like I would have wanted to go anyway. I don't like scientists.”

“ Oh, I see master Zeno got to you. Scientists aren’t all bad. However…” She trailed off again and her gaze shifted to the ground in the direction of the basement. “ I think they're only meeting about new equipment for the basement. I'm glad you didn’t go.”

“Yeah, who cares? Isn’t he an outlaw or something anyway, maybe they're on a job.” 

“ Hmm. While dr. Freecss does have to leave town, I doubt anyone is looking to kill him, let alone for master Silva to accept the job, information is worth much more than a bounty to your father.” She instantly realized her mistake. “ I’m sure you know that it's nothing out of the ordinary however, the coven’s met with scientific consultants before and I’m sure dr. Freecss is a fine man, otherwise they never would have gone in the first place.”

“yeah…” He knew not to pry when it came to affairs between his father and his colleagues. There were really only three issues of business in the coven, new devices made to kill, new spells made to kill, and the money they made from it all. “Well, I’m heading to the kitchen. Say hi to Alluka for me when you go back over.” Killua turned and began to walk in the other direction.

“I will” Canary knew Killua didn't fully trust her, but if there were anyone he -“Just one more week right?”

Killua looked back, smiled, and nodded. “Im catching up to you huh?” 

“Um. No, I died when I was fourteen you're already past me by a few months.” 

“What would that make you now? 70? 75?” 

“Funny. Although I’m surprised you don’t remember.” She laughed. "Your father gave me eternal life not that long ago. I’m 17 in December.” She would look like this the rest of her life. Her and the rest of the butlers. “Well, I guess there’s no point in waiting here now. Theres no way master Illumi would tell me anything, so i'll go back. Oh. Right, Alluka’s birthdays coming up soon too, we'll have to go visit her sometime.”

“ Right.” 

Both their faces shared a sharp look of regret for a moment, and is if they had shared the same mind, they both turned around and walked down either ends of the hall with more of a purpose than before. 

━━━━━━ ✩̣̣̣̣̣ͯ┄•͙✧⃝•͙┄✩ͯ•͙͙✧⃝•͙͙✩ͯ┄•͙✧⃝•͙┄✩̣̣̣̣̣ͯ ━━━━━━ 

He continued throughout the house for almost an hour. One week would have to be enough time. He couldn't let himself become heir. He would rather die. Maybe he would if it came down to it. Thank God for Canary. They hadn’t always been close, but If there were anyone he could trust it would be Canary. His plans wouldn’t be easy. Escaping from the estate for the first time, she would be vital. If she could come with him, It would be even easier. Canary, no none of the butlers could leave. Thats how their deals with his father went, eternal life yes, but it would be dedicated to the Zoldycks, stuck on this foggy moor forever. He had to get out. And Alluka. He would come back. He would get stronger and come back for her, but for now, Canary knowing his plan was already too much. She didn’t know the details, but it was better that way. She was trustworthy, but they weren't friends, she could screw things up. 

He walked past the plot of carpet he had been calmly pacing on into the room on the right. His brother’s room, although it was better described as a dungeon. The room’s content didn't fit with the imprisoning look of its foundation. You would think the room belonged to a child , but no Illumi was an adult, although a twisted one. Dolls littered the room. Small ones, ones that were broken or maybe decaying, and some who’s faces Killua almost recognized except their features were contorted and uncanny. Most notably, a doll the size of his arm lay on the left of Killua’s foot. Its features were undoubtedly fashioned to mimmic Gotoh’s. This must be new. 

Shit 

If it was only Canary in the hallway beneath his room, who had she been talking to? Was it Gotoh? Were his plans already useless? He started to panic. He needed to run, this room scared him. He needed to run away from this house and from whatever mind controlled puppet version of Gotoh waited for him. He backed out of the room and walked down in the direction of the basement. Whatever, screw it. He had come this far. Illumi might already know, he might already have a doll prepared to control Killua himself. Either way he still had to run, Illumi’s needles were powerful enough to create puppets and control you from the inside. However he was the heir, just like his father had been, someday he would be better and stronger than Illumi, and as soon as that day came, he wouldn’t hesitate and he wouldn't feel any remorse. He would kill his brother.

There it was again the chill he first felt in his room this morning. The draft seemed to pick up the closer he got to the basement. 

What now?

Illumi kept most of his terrors and things in his own room, but occasionally he needed the machines in the basement on the lowest level of the left wing for his projects. The basement was fair game and even his father used it. Was this what the consultation with that scientist was really about? New machines? No, it had something to do with something bigger, he was sure of it. 

He approached the second most massive door in the estate. It was already open. That was a good thing, now he wouldn't have to touch the door with his hands and run the risk of sending a fatal shock throughout the entire room. He wandered through the wide warehouse of violent devices. Some were new, which ones though? He couldn’t remember, and he didn’t want to. He feared most the memories he had of this room. 

It was certainly cold, but this room was underground. The possibility of a stray breeze was quickly disproved in his mind. 

Killua scanned along the edge of the room with his eyes. That might be new. His gaze focused on a Large rectangular box standing in the right corner. A fridge? A freezer? It looked out of place amid the sharp appliances that encompassed it. He walked closer to inspect it more carefully when he heard it again. Voices trailed down from the hallway leading to the basement. He recognized one of the voices as Illumi’s and the other was new. 

He would have to hide, a run-in with Illumi was the last thing he needed. If Illumi saw him walking around the house without his gloves… His eyes flashed across the room trying to find a place out of Illumi’s gaze. Yes, the box. There wasn’t a lock on it, so opening it would be easy. He reached a hand out to the knob like handle. Shit. It was steel. The carpet. As long as every inch of the box was still on the carpet he could do this without sending a jolt throughout the room, he could twist the door open and not be found. He would just open the door, electrocute only the box, step in, and wait till the voices vanished. He couldn't run now. 

His hand wrapped around the metal handle, A blue shock ran through the box and stopped at the carpet. He turned it, and swung the door open. This was where the chill had been coming from, It wasn’t a freezer, but definitely a fridge. If his senses hadn’t been so honed all his life, he would never been so good at detecting different temperatures coming from totally different rooms of the house. He smiled at himself for a second before walking into the fridge. It was pitch black. He squinted around to find a light switch, but came to the conclusion he didn't have time. He pivoted around and secured the door shut. The voices were clear now, they were definitely in the room. 

“The stuffs all here, so I should really go.” The unrecognizable voice was scratchy and sounded tired. “It was good doing business with you, but I have a train to catch early in the morning.”

“Thank you, I hope you’ll find my needles useful in the future. And I’m sure we'll put these products to good use.” Illumi’s was just as cold as ever and was still able to send a chill down Killua’s spine, even in a fridge.

He wasn’t able to hear the rest of the departure. The sounds receded as quickly as they came. Killua let out a sigh. A small flicker of light arose in the fridge, followed by a dim lightbulb switching on above him.

“Sorry, but your stepping on my foot.” Another voice appeared, this time from directly behind him. 

Killua sprung around, his hand mangled into a point. His nails sharpened and pointed at the neck boy that stood infront of him. 

“Hold on, I’m not going to hurt you!” The boy was clearly injured. Or? Stitches wrapped around his face, and two bolts of metal stuck out of either side of his neck.

“Why are you in my basement, and why does your face look so gross?” 

“I don’t know what you mean, I just woke up in here and you were already stepping on my foot. I don’t know who you are.”

“Likely story. Who are you?” 

“No, I asked first!” 

“ Huh? No you didn’t.” 

“What? I’m pretty sure I did.”

“Stop distracting me, I’m asking the questions. Were you sent here to kill me, because you won’t get to.” Killua’s hand was still focused on the discolored patch of flesh between the two bolts. “Especially not when you're hooked up to all those wires.” The bolts were attached to wires that spread across to either side of the room. 

“Oh, I won’t kill you.” The boy’s left hand reached up to feel the bolts, and yank the wires away. “ Why are these here? Anyways I’m Gon!” Gon’s other hand stretched straight forward into Killua’s face. 

“What the hell are you doing? Get your hand out of my face!” He slapped it away with his free arm. “Did you hide in this equipment to try and sneak into our estate.” 

“No, I already said I don’t know who you are.” He looked a little mad now. “Who are you?”

“I’m a Zoldyck.” Killua hated saying that, but if Gon truly didn't know who he was, he could at least expect a reaction to that name. Everyone knew that name. 

“Ok! Whats your first name?

“What?”

“What’s you real name?” 

Killua’s hand relaxed to normal again, still fixed above Gon’s frayed green shirt. 

“I’m Killua.” 

“Killua… Ok. that thing you did with your hand was pretty cool! How'd you make it all sharp like that?” 

“Oh, I don’t know. I just changed it.” He retracted his arm and let it hang by his side. “What are you, some sort of Frankenstine?” 

“No, my last name is Freecss…” He frowned a bit. 

“Freak is right.” Killua shook his head. Was that the name of that doctor Canary had mentioned to him earlier? “Why do you have those creepy stitches all over you?” 

“I don’t really know.” Gon raised his shoulder out to look at the forearm that looked as if it had been embroidered on. He looked confused.

“How old are you?” Was this really the only person to ever break into the Zoldyck mansion? Who would have sent this almost deteriorating boy? He wasn’t even as tall as Killua. 

“Oh I’m 14.” Gon’s expression lightened. “What about you?”

“I’m almost 15.” 

“Really? When’s your birthday?” He waited a few seconds for a response, his face unchanged.

“Your kind of weird.” Killua wasn’t too sure of why, but the interaction had made him forget the absence of his gloves. 

“It's still too dark in here” Killua’s hand shot out behind him to the door. A hue of static lit the room and in turn the other boy. In the room's newfound light Killua saw Gon’s eyes open wider than he thought possible. 

When the light from outside the fridge reached Gon, Killua had to do a double take.

The first time Killua accidentally electrified a person, it had been one of the butlers who his father hadn’t made into a spirit yet. He died within moments. His body was really only ash afterwords. From then on, Killua had to wear gloves everywhere, and unless he learned how to control the voltage, he would have to wear them the rest of his life.

Gon’s face lit up with a look of what Killua initially thought was terror. It wasn’t that though, it was awe. 

“You did that?” 

“yeah… I do that sometimes.” Killua was perplexed to say the least. Why was Gon not fazed by what just happened? Killua wasn’t sure exactly how dangerous that shock had been, but he knew it was enough to fry the wires that hung near Gon’s head. “So you're a spirit then?” The only other people Killua had met that were resistant to his shocks were the spirits that worked for the coven as butlers. 

“No, I’m alive. What do you mean spirit? Are you a spirit? Is that why you were able to do that just now?” 

“Do you not know anything? That was magic. Can’t most of you people use it too?”

“So you are a spirit.”

“What? No. I never said that.”

“Well you said "you people" .” Gon looked even more confused. “Are spirits people? I don’t really know.” 

“No I’m a human.” Killua didn’t sound fully sure. “You’re kinda stupid too.” 

“I’m not sure if you're joking anymore.”Gon scratched his head. 

“It doesn't matter.” Killua examined the stitch-work on Gon’s hand from just outside the door. “You said Freecss was your last name, is your father Dr. Freecss? 

“Yeah! Have you seen him? The last time I saw him…well I can’t really remember. It wasn’t good though. How do you know him?

“I don’t, but he works with my brother.” Yeah, his brother. That’s what those stitches reminded him of. The pattern of stitches were far too messy to be Illumi’s. But the way they seemed to hold the boy together, reminded him of the dolls. “His names Illumi, have you met him?”

“No, I don’t know a lot of people, but if he’s anything like you I would remember meeting him.” Gon walked out of the fridge. 

“Well he’s nothing like me.” Killua let the door close. “Speaking of my brother, I need to leave before he finds me down here without my gloves.” 

“What should-" Gon looked around at the machinery in the room. He still looked just as in awe, but even more lost. 

“I don’t know, do whatever. If you're here to try and kill any of us, my votes for Illumi.” Killua walked past the guillotine looking contraption near the room’s exit and slipped past the door into the hallway. This was weird, but not the strangest thing he’d seen in this basement. As long as Illumi never knew he was downstairs, or had seen the doll of Gotoh, he could forget this whole situation. 

“WAIT, I don’t know my way around here!” Gon ran up to Killua at the door, smiling. “Where’s the exit?” 

“It’s…” He stoped in his tracks. Unless this was the new equipment. What if this boy was what the scientist had given Illumi? Or was this Illumi’s handiwork? One of his dolls. No it couldn’t be, none of Illumi’s dolls were this alive, and none of them could speak. They were only used for putting needles in, to control the real thing. Either way he couldn't let Illumi know he messed around in the basement and let out whatever this thing was. “Ok, you're going to have to leave through a different door, and don’t let my brother see you.”

“Those aren't very good directions.” Gon slouched his shoulders. “I-sh” The rest of Gon’s body slouched even more now. His eyes lost a bit of their shimmer and then closed. He slumped on the ground.

“Hey.. HEY! Stop being weird.” Killua stuck out his sneaker and poked at Gon’s limp shoulder. “Are you still ok?"

Killua had murdered a lot of people in his life, quite a lot of them accidental too, but he’d never seen anyone die for no reason before. He pinched and lifted the ratty sleeve of gon’s shirt (if it could even be called that). He watched for a pulse. Yeah, he was dead. Killua had seen countless dead bodies before, but he’d never had to dispose of one before. He couldn't just leave it there. Illumi would find it. 

Shit, still no gloves. He couldn’t drag him that far by just his sleeve, let alone up the stairs. Killua dug his hands into his hair and groaned, frustrated. This was the last thing he needed so close to his birthday, so close to escape.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for checking this out, this was so much fun! I can't wait to do more. I'm not super experienced with writing fics so please tell me if I did anything wrong with this.


	2. A x Temporary x Goodbye

He thought about the corpse in front of him for a while and decided whatever he did with it he needed to do quickly. He wrapped his hand tighter around the green sleeve, and fit his thumb through one of the rips. It wasn’t hard to drag the body, he wasn't that heavy, but it was hard to not let the cloth rip any further. What was this jacket thing even made out of? Killua figured the boy must have been homeless or had been poor. Killua never had to worry about money, as far back as he could remember he had a full closet of clothes he picked out online.

He could only drag the boy into the space in-between the stairway and the wall. He was hidden just enough so that if someone looked down from the top of the stairs they wouldn’t be able to see any part of him. Killua kicked the soles of the other boys boots farther into the corner. The boots were black with thick brown socks underneath. He was about to stop his attentive stare and sneak up the stairs when his gaze was pulled back to the soles of the boots. There was something engraved in their tread. “Freecss” That was right, gon’s father was dr. Freecss, but what family has their name engraved on their shoes? Killua paused.

His family would totally do that.

But that didn’t disprove any the theories that the engraving originally created in his mind. If Gon was raised by Dr. Freecss, then why did he look like this. Dr. Freecss was presumably just as affluent as the Zoldycks were, other wise his father and Illumi never would have made arrangements with him. Where had Gon come from? He didn’t have any answers for himself. Most importantly, he couldn’t let Illumi find the body. 

He ran up the stairs and around the hallways until he reached his room’s heavy door and swung it open. 

He paced around the rubber carpet in his room, he had gotten to choose the color for this section, so the carpet was a deep shade of crimson toned brown that matched perfectly with the reds of the brick walls. He liked that color more.

Illumi was home somewhere in the house, although he didn’t know where. He had to assume the worst case scenario, Gon was probably an experiment or something like that, and Illumi would eventually find out he wasn’t alive and in the fridge and was in fact dead and slumped under the stairs. The estate’s trash was always handled by the butlers so throwing him out wouldn't be an option. Maybe burying him. A thought flashed in his mind of his first kill, the butler that he reduced to only ash. That could work, even if he couldn’t control the voltage, after enough shocks it was bound to get high enough to fry the body. A pile of ash wouldn’t be too suspicious. But he should keep it in his room to make sure nobody found evidence of him using his power outside of the sanctuary of his room. 

He shifted his pace in the direction of the gloves on the side table and sighed, grabbing them as he walked out of the doorway again. He shoved them onto his hands. He stumbled down the stairs, still fumbling with the thumb of his right glove. He hoped that his careless steps hadn’t been loud enough for Illumi to hear wherever he was. His gloved hand followed behind him, gliding down the railing as he swung himself around the ending of the stairs. 

Corpses always creeped Killua out a little, reminded him of Illumi’s dolls. Most of the time after he killed someone, he left the body wherever it had dropped. Their faces always looked a little too alive for his comfort. This one looked like it hadn't ever even been alive. He grabbed the boy’s left hand and yanked him around so that he faced the stairs. Killua regretted this seconds after realizing what had happened. He felt the boy’s weight almost fully dissipate followed by a noise of stitches ripping. Killua dropped the hand and the the rest of the arm that had fully detached from its original torso. Yuck. This was going to be harder than he had planned. He bent down and tucked the loose arm under his own arm. He wondered if all the boy’s seams were just as fragile. He decided to try his luck and grab the other arm. It payed off, the seams on this limb seemed to be far stronger. He dragged the rest of the body along with it up a few stairs. Gon’s head bobbed up and down with each step, slamming back into the carpet with each step. Killua couldn’t help but feel annoyed with the loudness of all this. He looked back to make sure nobody was around to hear, when he saw the stain on the carpet he had left a few steps down. It wasn’t too noticeable but he would have to come back and clean it up. Now that he thought about it, why was there so little blood? It didn’t seem that strange to him at first, but people usually bleed more than a few tablespoons after getting their arm torn clean off. Gon was definitely weird. Was it possible he was just an experiment that Dr. Freecss didn’t want anymore? If that was true, what kind of experiment was this? Did Illumi help make it? Did he even know it was in the fridge?

━━━━━━ ✩̣̣̣̣̣ͯ┄•͙✧⃝•͙┄✩ͯ•͙͙✧⃝•͙͙✩ͯ┄•͙✧⃝•͙┄✩̣̣̣̣̣ͯ ━━━━━━ 

He made it to the closet of his room and let the arm fall out from under his. He propped the body against the the back wall of the closet and kneeled down next to it. The quicker he got this done, the quicker he could get back to the planing he needed to do for the week’s end. He kneeled on his ankles and slipped his hand out of the rubber glove, He used the other, still covered hand to hold Gon’s detached arm in front of him. He closed his eyes for a second and sent a shock through the arm. Only the hand remained when he opened them. Not quite enough. He couldn’t just hope that the voltage would be enough to pulverize the rest. He thought about it for a while as he turned the rest of the arm to ash. 

He would have to electrocute the boy using the bolts on his neck. Metal intensified his shocks, so maybe he would be able to finish it all in one shock. He leaned down and grabbed the bolts with both hands. Blue flashes blurred his vision again and he slouched back to face the body. 

Weird. 

He seemed fine. The corpse didn’t look any worse than a few moments before. One more time. He reached down, grabbing the bolts once again. The cracking of electricity was cut short. His hands retracted and tripped him into backing away from the corpse, who’s eyes were now wide open and glistening brown in the blue light. Leaning against the bricks, Killua realized how similar Gon’s eyes were to the carpet’s brown-reddish color. 

Gon shifted to his knees, and blinked a few times. “Where are we? .. did I fall asleep or something?” He didn’t seem to need to look around to be aware of his new location. 

“Maybe. You collapsed, so I brought you up here.” Killua’s vision darted away from him to look at the pile of ash where gon’s arm had been. “And um I ran up stairs to get my gloves before coming back to get you.” 

“ Oh yeah sorry, see I have this condition called Narcolepsy, I end up falling asleep at random times, there’s other stuff too but I’d have to ask Dr. Leorio to remember.” 

“ Never heard of it.” That sounded more like a type of magic to Killua. He felt a tinge of something like guilt or anxiety tug at him. “You should leave.”

“well tell me where to go, and I will.” Gon leaned forward and swung his still attached arm out and then back in, his thumb pointed at his chest. This motion seemed to alert him of the bigger issue. His eyes shot from Killua to his shoulder that used to have an arm attached to it. “HEY, where’s my arm? He shot up, standing and scanning the room and his shoulder.

Killua saw gon’s eyes pass the pile of ash without a second glance. His teeth unclenched “I don’t know.” He was supposed to be good at lying. “ It wasn’t there when I went back to you.”

“It’s fine.”Gon didn’t seem to pick up on the uncertainty in Killua’s voice. “I just need to go to the hospital or see my doctor soon.” Gon looked down at the floor near his boots and sighed slightly. “Or my father.” 

“Okay, well if you leave through the front door my brother will see you for sure, so you can leave through the warehouse entrance.” If Killua couldn’t do the job maybe mike could. Whatever happened to Gon would be his own fault. 

“Alright, let’s go.” Gon walked past Killua and through the door. He looked back and motioned for Killua to follow. 

“I’ll show you where I guess.” Killua looked at Gon for a second before adjusting his gloves, and rushing ahead of him. This wasn’t his house, he must have been pretty arrogant to act like he knew his way around. Gon was weird. Killua hadn’t known anyone his age...well ever, but even he knew that the reaction that Gon had to loosing and arm wasn’t normal, nothing about this boy was _normal_. Hopefully he wouldn’t have to find out why. Once Gon left through the warehouse entrance either mike would deal with him, or, less likely, he would escape. 

“Nice! you lead the way, I don’t know where I’m going.”Gon curled his hand into a thumb once again but this time it was aimed at Killua. 

“Yeah, well you wouldn't.” Killua bit down on his teeth and picked up his pace, tearing at the gloves he just struggled to get on. 

A few minutes of silence fell as they snuck down the stairs. Gon wasn’t especially loud, he must have noticed how inaudible Killua’s footsteps were and adjusted his own. But they still sounded deafening in contrast to Killua, who knew exactly how to shift his weight on each step to prevent any unsolicited creeks.

Killua’s whisper cut through the silence “will you stop being so _loud_ , my brother will hear us!”

“Yeah, sorry.” Gon wasn’t sure he could be any quieter. Why was he even apologizing? “What’s so bad about him finding us anyway?

“Well I don’t want to die, guess that’s not an issue for you though.” 

“What do you mean?" Of course he didn’t want to die. 

Killua stoped his pace down the stairs and thought a second before answering. “I just mean he probably won’t kill you.” Illumi would definitely kill Gon. But that was all he could think to say. Maybe Gon was sensitive about being dead, is that something most undead people are insecure about? Surely Gon knew what condition his own body was in, so then why didn’t he understand a simple gibe about it? 

They walked without any banter for a while until they reached the door of the warehouse. Clearly nothing had been stored inside the room for a while. Dust collected on the boxes that piled throughout the room, broom handles poking out of some and large stone mortar and petals placed on others. The basement was similar in construction with it's cold air and wandering metal screeches, but the ceiling here was lower and the back door looked more like a foldable metal garage door. 

“Okay, if you leave through here you should find a some willow trees and a path in-between them that will lead you right out the gate.” A lie. hopefully the fog would be enough to deceive Gon Into believing this, and conceal mike for a while before the hound consumed Gon.

“What about a doctor, do you know anyone near here who could get me a new arm?” There wasn’t a single line of humor in his face. 

“… No, I don’t.” What doctor has spare arms lying around? Killua didn’t know many doctors anyway, they fell under the category of scientist. Killua extended to lift the door up and open. If he was sending this boy off to his death he might as well be nice to him for a few moments. “You should try to find someone who has a phone, and use it to call your doctor... Leorio. Right?" 

“Yeah, that's a good idea." He looked out the door. “I hope we'll meet again when I’m not so injured so you can show me that cool trick with your hands.”

“Yeah”

“ Okay, well, IT WAS NICE MEETING YOU KILLUA! ” 

Gon hinged around from facing him and ran forward into the fog, blind to his surroundings, and Mike.

Killua hauled the door back down as he watched the other boy’s head swivel back to him, a grin ear to ear and arm waving.


	3. Two x Creatures

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Basically that scene from toothless.

Killua laid against the garage door of the warehouse and sighed. Maybe he had been harsh, but it needed to be done. Mike eating Gon wouldn't be the _worst _possible fate for him. It would be worse for Gon if he had to stay in this hell of an estate. It was either this or Killua killing him himself. Out of all the years Killua had been captive in this house, this was the first and only time he’d met someone his age, usually people who came to the estate were his dad’s age or Illumi’s. The exception being the family doctor, dr. Paladiknight, he was 19, and although they weren’t too close, the doctor knew just about everything there was to know about Killua.__

__He needed to get back to his escape plans. Now he could relax, Gon wouldn’t be found now that mike had almost definitely eaten him. He turned back to face the door Gon left from. He _should_ make sure that Mike finished the job though. _ _

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__There was a sense of urgency in Killua’s hands as he yanked the door back up again, though he didn’t know why. Gon should already be eaten. He should already be dead. Killua’s pace picked up as he slid out from under the door. He ran to the forest's edge and ducked below some low hanging branches. His insulated white shoes slammed against the light green grasses that padded the ground underneath the mist. It was impossible to see past the first few feet of trees, so he slowed down. At some point the sun had started to set and the mist became even more indecipherable. He had never been face to face with their guard dog mike, but he had seen the process before. Mike wasn’t too picky when it came to his his meals, tourists, butlers, possibly the undead. Maybe he hadn’t found Gon yet. If Gon was still “alive” what would he do then? In the low light, he rounded the corner a moment too quickly and seemed to have disturbed the beast. It crouched beneath the opening of a den that could easily could have been mistaken for a massive cave ._ _

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__Mike’s head pivoted back in a defense that soon turned to anger and a growl of hunger. The creatures eyes seemed to hollow as they homed in on Killua. Standing in-front of the towering hound, he could understand a glimpse of a fear that all prey experiences when faced with inconceivable bloodlust. One he had only felt in the presence of Illumi. A malicious intent. He could feel eldritch beast’s heavy breaths from the patch of moss his shoes were fixed on-top of, seemingly paralyzed. A shake rattled through the growl, and respectively through Killua’s stance. Mike bent his neck down, forcing his snout to glide through the dew towards Killua. Only some feet away, the growl stopped and a new sound took its place. A breath out and the sound of saliva, as its jaws separated from each other, pushing a wave of hot air onto Killua._ _

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___So this is what happened to him.__ _

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__Killua’s forehead beaded with sweat and a sharp unnerving pain, a last second of instinct kicked in and his legs sprung into a desperate backpedal, despite their weakness. Running full force through the pale unknown, his feet slipped beneath him and his head swung directly onto the mossy forest floor, his vision blurring on impact he clutched at the roots in-front of him. A warm feeling dripped down his face, as he gained enough leverage to pull himself back to his feet, the warm drip configuring into a smothering pain. He grabbed his forehead and breathed in a few times, his conscious slowly returning to his surroundings he noticed within seconds that the beast wasn’t following. He returned his gaze to mike, who was now accompanied by a boy, dwarfed in size in comparison to the hound._ _

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__Gon stood with his arm outreached to mike’s snout, now closed._ _

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__Killua inched towards the two, his vision almost fully returned._ _

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__He could just make out gon’s face in the dim glow of the Moonlight. The crimson brown of his eyes looked familiar, not because they were the same color as his room’s walls, but because they hollowed the same way Mike’s did. A feral look of inhumanity and wildness. An untamed version of Illumi’s silent threats. Gon and the creature must have shared an understanding. Killua stilled with the air and watched as the two gazed into each other’s eyes with unrestrained curiosity._ _

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___Who was he?_  
━━━━━━ ✩̣̣̣̣̣ͯ┄•͙✧⃝•͙┄✩ͯ•͙͙✧⃝•͙͙✩ͯ┄•͙✧⃝•͙┄✩̣̣̣̣̣ͯ ━━━━━━ _ _

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__It had been quiet between the two for a while. Killua wasn’t sure how Gon knew that he had been lying about finding a way out through the forest, but after Gon calmed mike, who apparently didn’t eat dead people, he and Killua walked in silence back to the warehouse._ _

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__“You’re bleeding from your head.” Gon walked in the center of the path._ _

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__“Yeah, well I didn’t know I would have to face off with our guard dog. He caught me by surprise is all.” Maybe he could pretend that he didn’t know Mike would be there. “Sorry for that by the way.”_ _

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__“It’s okay.” Gon could hardly make out the path. The night had reached its peak, and the fog was significantly colder. “How about I try to leave again tomorrow when it's not so dark out.” Gon tilted his torso, looking at Killua for confirmation._ _

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__“Yeah… That might not work out for you.” Killua looked forward at the roots that littered their path. “I’m trying to get out of here too, but the estate is basically a fortress.”_ _

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__“Oh, I thought you lived here.”_ _

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__“No, I do.” Gon was easy to confuse. “I don’t want to though. I’m leaving by the end of the week.”_ _

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__“ That’s perfect! I’ll come with you then.” Gon leaped a little ahead of them._ _

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__“ It’s not _perfect_ , you can’t tell anyone, or mention it. We’d have to sneak out.” _ _

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__“What would we have to avoid?” Gon wasn’t fully serious._ _

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__Killua sombered “Theres a lot of things, butlers, traps, gates. You know, stuff like that._ _

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__Gon nodded, understanding Killua’s tone. “This won’t be easy then.”_ _

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__“No.”_ _

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__The silence returned and two walked along the roots and moss for another few minutes before it started to rain. Killua began to regret coming back into the forest in the first place. As if it couldn't get worse, Gon had decided to run._ _

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__“We could race!” Gon looked like he had far too much energy for someone who’d been walking in the cold for the last few hours._ _

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__Killua considered a moment. “Yeah, ok.” The sooner they got back, the sooner they could leave._ _

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__Killua was already behind. He could still see Gon, but just barely. The forest floor was even more slippery due to the rain, and his shoe’s rubber soles weren’t helping. He squinted at Gon’s receding shadow, and tried to keep up. Killua didn’t bother telling him to slow down, and instead ran as fast as he could. If they got separated it would be hard for Gon to find his way back to the warehouse entrance. Luckily he was just in sight again._ _

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__Gon stopped maybe about twenty trees ahead of Killua and shifted back to look at him. “Last one there has to buy dinner!”_ _

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__Killua hadn’t stopped, “No one has to buy dinner, and it’s almost breakfast y’know!”_ _

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__Maybe gon hadn’t heard him, because instead of shouting back some stupid argument, Gon stood in same position. His expression was lost to Killua, being only a silhouette peaking through the mist._ _

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__“ You can keep going, I don’t need a head start!” Killua kept running, even though Gon was only a few tree’s away._ _

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__Gon’s frozen outline tipped and his arms spread out preparing for the fall. His efforts ended up useless however and he sunk to the ground._ _

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__Killua would have laughed if the realization hadn’t hit him so immediately. They were still an hour or so away from the warehouse, and Gon was asleep._ _

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__Gon definitely didn’t weigh too much more than Killua, but the rain made carrying another person a lot harder than it should have been._ _

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__━━━━━━ ✩̣̣̣̣̣ͯ┄•͙✧⃝•͙┄✩ͯ•͙͙✧⃝•͙͙✩ͯ┄•͙✧⃝•͙┄✩̣̣̣̣̣ͯ ━━━━━━_ _

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__The sun had just risen as Leorio stepped past the gates of the Zoldyck estate and onto the winding path in front of him. The stone ground that led past the butlers quarters and up to the mansion was overgrown with moss, and in considerably worse condition then when he first started visiting the Zoldycks. Maybe they were understaffed, or maybe Silva had finally stopped spreading his energy out through so many people. Leorio always told him he needed to cut back. It wasn’t good for his health to create so many spirits that depended on him to stay “alive”. Not that Leorio didn’t like the butlers, honestly he preferred them to most of the Zoldycks, with the exception of Alluka, Kalluto, and Killua._ _

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__The butlers that greeted him at the mansion’s door were his favorites._ _

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__“Dr. Paladiknight, welcome.” Canary tipped her head down and stepped backward into the door to push it open._ _

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__Leorio sighed “Thanks Canary, but like I tell you pretty much _every time_ I come for check-ups, you can just call me mr. Paladiknight.” Leorio smiled at her and the older butter that stood next to her. “No honorifics necessary.” _ _

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__Canary and Gotoh smiled back._ _

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__“Anyway, where're the kids? I think I’ll start youngest to oldest.” Leorio walked farther into the Foyer looking around at the dimly lit room. It looked like an old castle, medieval in its architecture, but modernized in its yellow light. Without the purple carpets and candles that littered the halls, the lighting could have make him think he were in gas station bathroom._ _

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__“Kalluto is with their mother, but miss Alluka should be awake and free to see you.” Canary motioned with her hand to the corridor leading to the right wing of the mansion. “I'll take you there right now if you’d like.”_ _

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__“Yeah, sounds good.” Leorio looked back at Gotoh and waved a goodbye before following canary into the red brick walled hallway._ _

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__After they were out of earshot from Gotoh, Leorio stopped to turn to Canary “Which day this week is Killua’s birthday?”_ _

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__Canary closed her eyes and slowed her pace “it’s on Friday. Why do you ask?” She didn’t know who knew about Killua’s plan, but Leorio wouldn't be a terrible choice for an ally._ _

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__“Because, honestly…” He lowered his voice to a whisper. “I think he needs to get out of here. As a medical professional I mean. He should lean how to control his voltage y’know, not let whatever Illumi’s plans are for him play out.”_ _

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__She waited a moment “I’m sorry mr. Paladiknight.” She looked sad. “You seem to really care about master Killua, so I’ll be honest with you. There isn’t much we can do for him.” She looked back at the hallway they had been walking through. Gotoh had left. “Although, I _can_ tell you that Killua will need all the help he can get when the time comes to it. I do hope you'll be around here whenever that is.” _ _

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__She looked back to him and saw his eyes flash with comprehension._ _

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__“Yeah, maybe.”_ _

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__Other than being compensated for his work, Leorio didn’t need to stay at Kukuroo Mountain for any reason past tomorrow, but on the other hand he also didn’t need to get back to York new city for at least two more weeks. If Canary meant what he thought she did, staying just for Killua’s sake was definitely worth it, and If Killua did have plans to escape, he could just ask him. Not that he could really do that much, at the most maybe he could help him find a place to stay after the escape. If Killua would even admit to him that he planned to escape. Maybe they weren’t that close. Leorio’s train of thought was stopped abruptly by the sound of Canary’s footsteps coming to a halt_ _

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__They arrived at Alluka’s door._ _

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__Canary punched in a code on the padlock and pulled on it until it clicked. The door was just as heavy most of the doors in the estate so Canary leaned her full weight against the metal and pushed herself out into the white room. This room must have had a different lighting system than the rest of the mansion. The room was painted white from the ceilings down, and instead of the yellow tint of the other rooms, the light was an electric blue, probably some sort of LEDs. The room was bare for the most part aside from the corner that seemed to have enough color to fill the entire room up with life. Stuffed animals and toys were splayed out all around the little girl that sat on one of the many pink and blue pastel pillows. Leorio walked over to her, while Canary turned back around to the exit._ _

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__“I’ll come back in two hours or so.” she walked past the door and reached to pull it closed.“Kalluto probably won’t be free till this evening, so I’ll go tell Master Killua he’s next.”_ _

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__“That’s perfect, thanks.” Leorio crouched down next to Alluka._ _

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__“Killua ?” Alluka tilted her head up at Canary._ _

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__“Yeah.” Canary smiled, but closed the monolith of a door before Alluka could ask any more questions._ _

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__Alluka’s lip trembled, she looked like she might cry._ _

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__Leorio cursed out Canary in his head. “Hey, Alluka! How’ve things been over here in the right wing?” He sat on one of the blue pillows next to her. “I hear it’s almost your birthday!”_ _

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__Apparently it didn't take too much to change the subject._ _

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__“Well, it’s on the July 20th so not really. That’s still forever-away. But Killua’s is much sooner. The seventh, that’s like only a few days from now._ _

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__Shit, wrong question._ _

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__“Have you seen Killua around? I know he’s busy but… I’d really like to see him before he le- I mean turns fifteen!” She spoke quicker now “Not that I won’t see him on his birthday, they're letting me attend the party and everything, its just that Illumi never lets him off the hook and I want to spend time with him before he has to go on missions all the time and stuff.” She sniffed. She wasn’t crying or anything, but explaining so fast had taken the wind out of her._ _

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__That was confirmation. Alluka had almost said “before he leaves” The _he_ being Killua and the _leave_ being the escape from the estate. Leorio was a bit proud of himself for putting it all together so quickly. _ _

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__“Y’know, I think he’d love to see you. How about I ask him when he has his check-up later today? ”_ _

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__“ Okay” she looked genuinely happier, “Thank you Dr. Leorio.”_ _

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__“Hey! What’d I tell you about _Leorio_. No one here’s supposed to know my first name! It’s dangerous!” _ _

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__Alluka chuckled “ Sorry Dr. Paladiknight.”_ _

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__He laughed now too. “Ah it’s fine. I know we're friends. I just don’t think your parents would like knowing that your sister also knows my name. How is Nanika by the way? Does she want to come out?_ _

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__Alluka nodded._ _

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__Her pupils slowly dilated and grew larger than her eyes themselves. Her mouth twisted and emptied into a cartoonish smile, toothless and void of any unnecessary details.  
“Leorio!”_ _

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__━━━━━━ ✩̣̣̣̣̣ͯ┄•͙✧⃝•͙┄✩ͯ•͙͙✧⃝•͙͙✩ͯ┄•͙✧⃝•͙┄✩̣̣̣̣̣ͯ ━━━━━━_ _

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**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm hoping to get another chapter out by the end of the week but w'ell see how that goes. thanks for reading this far!


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